Federal agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be on site at 13 major U.S. airports, filling in amid staffing shortages at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints as the partial government shutdown begins its seventh week.
A senior administration official told the Washington Examiner on Monday morning that ICE employees will focus on maintaining “more of a presence” at airport security checkpoints, acting more as background support due to their lack of training to carry out TSA responsibilities.
“They may assist with documents. But not working machines. Helping with lines. Crowd control. Exits. Etc,” the official wrote in a text message.
A second official, this one from ICE, said ICE personnel from the agency’s Enforcement and Removal Operations arm and Homeland Security Investigations arm will both be on site at airports. Employees will be in their ICE uniforms.
The first official confirmed that ICE employees were sent to 13 airports across the country:
Atlanta (ATL): Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Chicago (ORD): Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Cleveland (CLE): Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Houston (HOU): William P. Hobby Airport
Ft. Myers (RSW): Southwest Florida International Airport
New Orleans (MSY): Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport
New York (JFK): John F. Kennedy International Airport
New York-LaGuardia (LGA): LaGuardia Airport
Newark (EWR): Newark Liberty International Airport
Philadelphia (PHL): Philadelphia International Airport
Phoenix (PHX): Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
Pittsburgh (PIT): Pittsburgh International Airport
San Juan (SJU): Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
President Donald Trump decided over the weekend to have ICE personnel assist TSA amid mass staff shortages nationwide due to the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.
When asked by a reporter on Monday morning if ICE would arrest illegal immigrants at airports, Trump stated that ICE was “able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country.” Trump added that airports were “very fertile territory.”
However, non-U.S. citizens without valid travel documents may not enter the United States.
Pictures and videos of ICE employees walking around airports or behind TSA officers at checkpoints began to circulate on social media Monday morning.
Three partial or full government shutdowns have occurred since Trump took office last January, including the longest one in history last fall. That shutdown lasted 43 days.
The current shutdown is on day 38 and only affects the DHS, which TSA and ICE fall under. TSA has seen more than 400 employees quit during this shutdown, according to NBC News. The agency has more than 50,000 employees nationwide.
The employee resignations and call-outs have resulted in hourslong security lines at airports nationwide, causing passengers to miss flights.
ICE has roughly 6,500 ERO officers nationwide and is in the process of hiring and onboarding 10,000 new officers with funding that Congress provided in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Officers arrest illegal immigrants in law enforcement custody, as well as those who are at-large. Under Trump, ICE has prioritized arresting illegal immigrants with criminal histories.
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ICE’s HSI agents handle major homeland security-related investigations, including drug and human trafficking. Some agents have temporarily been assigned to assist ERO.
ICE did immediately respond to a request for comment.
ICE officers have arrived at Houston’s Hobby Airport to help TSA 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZKLHGGDmRv
